CT Measurements of Two-Phase Flow in Fractured Porous Media
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- The simulation of ow in naturally fractured reservoirs commonly divides the reservoir into two continua { the matrix system and the fracture system. Flow equations are written presuming that the primary ow between grid blocks occurs through the fracture system and that the primary fluid storage is in the matrix system. The dual porosity formulation of the equations assumes that there is no ow between matrix blocks while the dual permeability formulation allows fluid movement between matrix blocks. Since most of the fluid storage is contained in the matrix, recovery is dominated by the transfer of fluid from the matrix to the high conductivity fractures. The physical mechanisms influencing this transfer have been evaluated primarily through numerical studies. Relatively few experimental studies have investigated the transfer mechanisms. Early studies focused on the prediction of reservoir recoveries from the results of scaled experiments on single reservoir blocks. Recent experiments have investigated some of the mechanisms that are dominant in gravity drainage situations and in small block imbibition displacements. The mechanisms active in multiphase ow in fractured media need to be further illuminated, since some of the experimental results appear to be contradictory.This report describes the design, construction, and preliminary results of an experiment that studies imbibition displacement in two fracture blocks. Multiphase (oil/water) displacements will be conducted at the same rate on three core configurations. The configurations are a compact core, a two-block system with a 1 mm spacer between the blocks, and a two-block system with no spacer. The blocks are sealed in epoxy so that saturation measurements can be made throughout the displacement experiments using a Computed Tomography (CT) scanner. Preliminary results are presented from a water/air experiment. These results suggest that it is incorrect to assume negligible capillary continuity between matrix blocks as is often done.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | June 1997 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Hughes, Richard G. |
|---|---|
| Primary advisor | Brigham, William E. |
| Advisor | Castanier, Louis M. |
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University, Department of Petroleum Engineering |
Subjects
| Subject | School of Earth Energy & Environmental Sciences |
|---|---|
| Subject | Stanford University Petroleum Research Institute |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
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Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Hughes, Richard G. (1997). CT Measurements of Two-Phase Flow in Fractured Porous Media. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/wv428nb9083
Collection
Master's Theses, Doerr School of Sustainability
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